The Dark Age of Comic Books was the culmination of a gradual move towards an older audience for Comic Books, particularly those featuring superheroes, that had started in The Bronze Age of Comic Books. It's sometimes also called The Iron Age of Comic Books, to follow the Gold/Silver/Bronze progression, but Dark Age is the much more common term. Usually characterized as a Darker and Edgier period featuring an increased focus on sex, violence and dark, gritty portrayals of the characters involved, much of the content produced during this era is very controversial among comic book fans and is usually (depending on who you ask) considered either a welcome breath of fresh air after the medium languishing so long in its own version of the Animation Age Ghetto, a period of grotesque excess and immaturity...or a little of both.

The Dark Age is generally agreed to have begun in 1986 — a watershed year in comics, seeing the publication of Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns and Alan Moore's Watchmen. While works both by these authors and others in the field had also displayed Dark Age sensibilities prior to these such as Moore's V for Vendetta and Miracleman (both 1982), and Miller's Ronin (1983), Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns were the two works which provided much of the direct inspiration for what followed. Both were dark, gritty and complex works which took the superhero genre and deconstructed it, infusing it with greater political and psychological complexity and a greater amount of graphic sexual and violent content than had been seen previously. They also kick-started a trend for portraying superheroes not as the whiter-than-whitebread heroes of pure moral standing that had been the common default prior to these works, but as neurotic, tormented and at times borderline-fascistic Anti Heroes whose violent methods masked a whole range of psychological and sexual issues. They also achieved widespread mainstream attention, and acclaim within intellectual circles, something unheard in the industry before. This in effect briefly turned comics into the "hip" and "rebellious" medium.

1986 also saw the wholesale rewriting of The DCUfollowingCrisis on Infinite Earths, which would itself be incredibly influential on what followed for numerous reasons. Firstly, it was the first Crisis Crossover (while Secret Wars was published first, it was only in response to Crisis which was already on the planning table, and led Marvel to panic and rush it out before Crisis), and its success paved the way for more Big Events over the decade. Secondly, the reboot itself was important in setting the overall tone of the comics that would follow and, as editors began to pick and choose what stayed and what was discarded, it seemed increasingly clear that more of the Lighter and Softer elements were being removed as comics were beginning to cater to a more mature audience.

In order to draw in more adult readers while still keeping their main universes at least nominally family-friendly, the main publishers began to set up and use "imprints", sub-publications of a company that specialized in specific content for people with certain interests. One of the most successful imprints was DC'sVertigo Comics, which specialized in a re-imagining of obscure characters from The DCU in Darker and Edgier contexts.

Also around this time, creator-owned companies such as Dark Horse Comics (founded in 1986) and Valiant Comics (founded in 1989) began to gain prominence following disputes between creatives and executives over issues such as creators' rights and the restrictions of The Comics Code, the influence of which was steadily weakening. Like the imprints of the main publishers, these smaller companies often specialised in material aimed at more adult readers than previously, and which continued the process of deconstructing established tropes of the superhero genre. Dark Horse, founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson out of his chain of comic shops of the same name, still exists to this day, and is well known for being versatile. It published such critically acclaimed creator owned series as Hellboy and Sin City, as well as licensed works, such as comics set in the Star Wars Expanded Universe, and was even an early source for translated Manga (itself a growing cultural force) such as AKIRA. Valiant was founded in 1989 by former Marvel Comics Editor in chief Jim Shooter. In 1986, Shooter spearheaded the short lived The New Universe imprint, with the idea of creating a new "more realistic" approach to traditional superhero tropes. Its failure inspired him to leave and try the same thing again with a new company. Valiant attempted to create a hard Sci-Fi superhero universe without Comic-Book Time, with events happening in the same time frame as the publication schedule. Valiant achieved a lot of early success, briefly becoming a legitimate competitor to the Big Two, and producing such critically acclaimed works as Harbinger and Solar: Man of the Atom, and still has a small, but devoted following of fans.

While the groundwork had been laid during the eighties, the Dark Age reached its peak in the early 90s, the same period that spawned Mortal Kombat and Grunge rock. No, this is not a coincidence; all had their roots in the same jaded, cynical, Gen X attitude that was common at the time. In fact a key figure of the Dark Age, Rob Liefeld, was even the same age as Kurt Cobain (both being born in 1967).

Liefeld, one of the most popular creators of the time, influenced the Age in three main ways. Firstly, the characters he devised acted as central Trope Codifiers for the Nineties Anti-Hero, the primary character archetype of the period. The character of Cable, introduced by Liefeld as leader of Marvel's X-MenSpin-OffThe New Mutants, was a particularly important one; although initially a villain, his character was used to fill an editorial mandate calling for a "man of action" to act as a foil to Xavier's more gentle style of leadership. Secondly, Liefeld's artwork — dark, gritty and angular — was perfect for the darker tone of comic books of the day, and began to be widely imitated — to the extent that even his flaws were emulated by other artists.

The third influence Liefeld had was through Image Comics, a key source of some of the Age's most influential content, founded in 1992 following a dispute between seven of Marvel's top artists (including Liefeld) over creator's rights. Image, founded on the principles that creators were entirely in control of their own product, were entirely free of the Comics Code and with some of the most popular creators of the time on board, they became known for two things: comics that relied heavily on sex and violence, and comics that sold like wildfire. Naturally, the success of Image prompted the other companies to sit up, take notice, and try their hardest to catch the same lightning.

Marvel was also actively trying out new concepts and characters, giving them their own series, including New Warriors, Sleepwalker, Darkhawk, and Thunderstrike. Sadly, all of these titles would eventually be canceled, although they all had their own merits and cult followings.

The resulting material has been hotly contested by fans with regards to its quality. Certainly, the age produced a lot of widely-acclaimed and notable works, both affiliated with the mainstream universes and the independents — such as The Maxx, Neil Gaiman's The Sandman, Grant Morrison's runs on Doom Patrol and Animal Man, Todd McFarlane's Spawn, and Erik Larsen's The Savage Dragon. At their best, creators were using the new lack of constraints to transcend the old limitations and develop stories that were interesting, imaginative, complex and mature, embracing the possibilities of the medium and going beyond the traditional literature in the process. Many genuine classics have their origins in the moods and tones of the era.

However, at the other end of the scale, a number of critics argue that in many cases "mature" content was actually closer to "adolescent"; while creators were taking inspiration from The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen, many had completely missed the point, focusing merely on the surface details in order to Follow the Leader without coupling them with the depth of narrative and the thematic and psychological complexity that had made these works unique and well received. Complaints center around a crowd of deeply disturbed and unpleasant 'heroes' who were quite frequently little more than psychotic thugs cut from the same template.

The portrayal of women – rarely at its most mature to begin with in this genre – plunged to ever more absurd depths, at times bordering on outright misogyny (except for Wonder Woman under George Perez, which is actually considered one of the best runs on the character). For example, during the Dark Age an entire sub-genre of "Bad Girls" comics started to appear, featuring female characters (usually Witches, Demons, Vampires, etc) in highly Stripperific outfits in Supernaturally themed, borderline pornographic storylines. An early Trope Codifier for this was Lady Death. There was a time when this kind of material made up 90% of the material produced by Avatar Press. The "Bad Girls" genre has more or less died out, however some series like this (most notably Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose) are still around.

An overly dark, cynical tone appeared even in works for which such a tone was unsuitable. While not always a deconstruction of The Silver Age of Comic Books, it was certainly a deliberate opposition, and although touted as being more adult and mature, in too many cases the works produced during the age were no more sophisticated than or superior to earlier, 'immature' works – merely nastier (this is Alan Moore's big complaint about the era).

Keep in mind that the above three paragraphs primarily describe the output from Image Comics which specialized in overly dark, incredibly cynical works. One of which was even titled Bloodstrike that had a first issue with a blood filled cover. While this may seem like only one company, Image was absolutely huge at the time to the point where most people's image of 90s comics is ripped directly from Image's output which was not approved by any regulatory board and thus was able to get away with far more extreme content than either Marvel or DC were ever willing or able to publish at the time. While allowing for new boundaries to be broken in the medium, Image's work in retrospect is often viewed as tacky. Thankfully, the company has Grown the Beard in The Modern Age of Comic Books, while a Marvel and DC who are now both free of the Comics Code are both showing more sophistication and restraint than 90s Image ever did.

Ironically, during the Dark Age in comics, superhero movies had actually been a lot Lighter and Softer than the material they were taking inspiration from. So far, however, the Hollywood Dark Age is taking a much more nuanced approach than the comic one. Whereas the comics, for the most part, crammed as much sex and gore as humanly possible into the pages they were given, the movies are taking a less bloody approach (except when justified); The Dark Knight relies on Bloodless Carnage like no other, and Watchmen is gory but doesn't rely on the gore to tell a story (in fact, the climax is less gory in the movie than it was in the comic). For all we know, this could change in the future, just like how Alan Moore and Frank Miller gave way to Todd Mc Farlane and Rob Liefeld, although Hollywood's desire to attract wide audiences for their blockbusters will most likely keep things PG-13 such as with the 2012 megasmash The Avengers that seems to balance light stuff with dark. But then, there's 2010's Kick-Ass.

As for the men who arguably started it all, at least one later appeared less-than-impressed by what followed. Moore became one of the era's most outspoken critics, revamping Supreme – originally a standard grimdark Superman clone – into an in-depth exploration of the Superman myth and what made it work, and many of his works for his America's Best Comics line, such as Tom Strong, display a notable Lighter and Softer tone in order to balance the extremes of this era. The other, Miller, seems to be more on the fence, with his later works, including The Dark Knight Strikes Again and All-Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder either openly making fun of his own earlier work or providing a terrible example of its worst excesses, depending on who you talk to. This divergence was reflected even in more mainstream fare like Captain America in the 1980s and Batman in the 1990s when they were each replaced by Darker and EdgierAnti-Hero Substitute imitators who sneer at the original's "old fashioned" values. However, the upstarts learn that while they have emulated the surface trappings of the iconic originals, they ultimately cannot match their true might combined with the heroic ideals and principles that Steve Rogers and Bruce Wayne have in their spirits to make the superheroes legends, as evidenced when the originals take back their callings with irresistible force.

The Maxx came out of this era, and while the series was published by Image Comics and the titular character may look the part, the series itself is far stranger, more metaphorical, and a good deal smarter than the other stuff that came out around this time. Thus it receives a far better reputation than many of its contemporaries nowadays.

The Death of Superman, one of the "big events" of the Dark Age (which was conceived to delay Superman and Lois' marriage in order to coincide with the then-current Lois and Clark series.) The character's inevitable return introduced four characters who attempted to replace him, each being a pastiche of a Dark Age trend.

Wolverine, like the Punisher and Batman, was a preexisting hero who attained new heights of popularity because he fit the grim and gritty trend; his regular series began in 1988, and Wolverine Publicity spread like Kudzu.

The one-off Doomcomic wasn't exactly notable, but it perfectly illustrates the excesses of the age.

Witchblade, one of the few long-lasting books of that time period, which spawned a TV show, anime, and manga, with an upcoming movie.

Judge Dredd was another example of Misaimed Fandom on a pre-existing character. Unfortunately, the US fans and Hollywood misinterpreted what was blatant to the original 2000 AD readers: that Dredd was a rare satirical character played straight instead of for humor.

Supreme started out as a straight example about "What if Superman was a huge jerk", but when Alan Moore came on, this trend was parodied with "Grim 80s Supreme" as one of the previous incarnations living in the Supremacy. Later they would introduce his archenemy Grim 80s Demented Tittering Transvestite Serial Killer Darius Dax (Dax is normally Lex Luthor with hair, so you can tell how big a stretch that characterization is) and Grim 80s Traumatized Diana Dane.

The Malibu Comics flagship title Prime was created with the same purpose in mind, and also ended up being a deconstruction of the era once that company folded and sold all their assets to Marvel.

Body Bags, Which like the above mentioned Doom Comic is notable only because it perfectly illustrates the excesses of the age. An indie comic about an estranged father/daughter assassin team, and how they grow to tolerate one another. The story starts with people getting ventilated and Clownface (the father) sticking a knife into the abdomen of a pregnant crackhead and joking about it, and goes from there. Oh, and the daughter, Panda, is a fourteen year old with unusually large breasts, constantly wears a cheerleader uniform, and spends most of each issue bent over or spread-eagled.

Comic Book/Excalibur, Britain's X-Men/Avengers counterpart actually averted the trend, for the most part. While it starred Peter Wisdom, an Anti-Hero and member of the Trench Coat Brigade in the mould of John Constantine, and Rachel Grey, fresh from the horrific dystopia of Days of Future Past and prone to Stripperiffic outfits, it also starred Nightcrawler, Kitty Pryde and later on, Colossus, as well as Meggan Puceanu and Brian Braddock . The former three were the X-Men's chief Pillars of Moral Character and the latter two weren't far behind. So, Colossus' bout of jealousy towards Wisdom over his relationship with Kitty notwithstanding, between them they lightened the darker characters. While the book was eventually cancelled in 1998, it lasted ten years and developed a significant enough cult following that it was resurrected as New Excalibur in 2005, minus the X-Men affiliated characters, then as Captain Britain and MI 13, which garnered a reputation for popularising characters that were nominal C-List Fodder and ended with the critically acclaimed Vampire State, which was nominated for a Hugo Award.

The Sandman Began in 1989, ended in 1996. One of the most successful and critically acclaimed comic series of The '90s, and arguably of all time, second only toWatchmen.

Transformers Generation 2 actually took this time in its stride, further deepening the series mythos and taking full advantage of Anyone Can Die. It mostly failed due to the unrealistic sales expectations being placed upon the series. (It actually sold better than some titles that are considered quite successful.)

Perhaps the best remembered Crisis Crossover of The '90s, the Age of Apocalypse event which had all X-Men comics put on hold for several months so as to explore a dystopian alternate timeline where the X-Men never existed.

Possibly a Deconstruction, because the world fared exactly as well as you'd expect it to do under the rule of a superpowered psychopath. Also, AoA did make the difference between heroes and villains pretty clear.

Joe Madureira who's work ushered in the ultra-saturated, hypershaded manga-influenced look that defined the mid-90s though the mid-2000s. His art was incredibly stylized, cartoonish and helped the medium grow out of the dark and gritty style that was popular in the late 80s and early 90s while keeping the impossibly large muscles and exaggerated poses which were popular at the time. His work has even influenced artists today like Sean Chen and Humberto Ramos while also opening western markets to Japanese Manga.

The Crow, first published in 1989, is about a brooding pretty boy goth who comes back from the dead to take revenge on the gang that murdered him and his girlfriend by killing them in brutal and symbolic ways. It spawned a TV Show and a few movies, briefly becoming a Gothic icon.

The Darkness, about a mafia hitman with demonic powers - it's in the name

X-Force, the X-Men spin off that gave the world Cable, Deadpool, and, for better or worse, launched the career of Rob Liefeld. However, once Liefeld left the book, Greg Capullo took over on art which is nearly unanimously praised and remains so to this day with his work on Batman.

Darkhawk seemingly had his cake and ate it too. He looked dark and brooding and had a cool name that didn't really match the character (he had a dark costume but there was no hawk motiff). Despite that, he was a pretty normal teenager that wasn't very violent.

Similar to the Incredible Hulk example above, The Power of Shazam subverted this, keeping an optimistic approach in the Dark Age.

Believe it or not, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were originally intended to be a parody of this era of comic books. Splinter's name is a reference to Stick, and the Foot Clan were based on the Hand. And the original versions' origin hints that the accident with the spilled chemicals that mutated the turtles was the same accident that blinded a certain young man..

Archie Comics' Sonic the Hedgehog started in 1993, the height of this era. Early issues even took time to parody the excesses of the period. Ironically, the comic dove into its own Dark Age at the same time mainstream comics were finally lightening up, even doing a crossover with Image Comics.

The Crossing which was a rather hated and infamous Avengers event which came out of a Dork Age after Operation Galactic Storm where most of the popular characters were no longer part of the team. The solution was to kill the entire team with only a handful of exceptions that led into the widely despised Heroes Reborn crossover which drove Marvel into bankruptcy.

The only downside to Heroes Return was that the X-Men who had maintained a high level of quality up to this point stagnated after the departures of Jeph Loeb and Scott Lobdell. Not that the Seagle/Kelly run was bad, nor was Alan Davis' take but the X-Men stagnated without much vision.

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